Battle of Saint-Come-du-Mont

The Battle of Saint-Come-du-Mont occurred from 7 to 9 June 1944 during Operation Overlord in World War II. The US 4th Infantry Division and the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment worked together to capture the town from the Germans, who put up stiff resistance.

The 4th Infantry Division's armor spearheaded an assault on the crossroads linking the vital town of Carentan with Saint-Come-du-Mont, with M5 Stuart tanks breaking down German blockades and providing cover for the infantry as they cleared various enemy machine gun positions along the road. After succeeding in breaking through to the town of Saint-Come itself, the regrouped 502nd PIR assaulted the town, taking out a troublesome machine-gun nest. This effectively opened the town to the Americans, but the elite 6th Fallschirmjaeger Regiment (German paratroopers) was deployed to defend the town, with the fallschirmjaegers being assisted by the panzers of the 100th Panzer Battalion. Despite having the odds against them, the 502nd PIR succeeded in securing the town, capturing a German supply base and protecting it from a tank and several fallschirmjaegers. With the town itself secured, the Germans were forced to fall back to a farmhouse to the west of the town. The Americans succeeded in securing the farm after a relatively easy battle, and they also eliminated several German mortar crews. The American victory allowed for the Americans to secure their flank as their forces advanced on Carentan.